Thamizh padam
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I owe my abiding love for B-movies to Dabba. The official name was Sri Ganesh Talkies ad it was located a couple of kilometres from the campus gate at BITS, Pilani. It had four walls, a makeshift ceiling, and the projectionist’s dhoti for a screen. I’m guessing he diligently washed it every February 29th. Front
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I am sure there are a lot of Padaiyappa fans out there. Ditto for Chandramukhi, Kuselan and Sivaji. I even know someone who claims to like Baba — for reasons too numerous to mention, I am disinclined to hold it against him, though. But as far as I am concerned, the last great Rajni movie
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I went on a spree recently and ended up watching three movies in more or less quick succession. Hey, people gorge on chocolate, I watch two movies back to back at a multiplex. So sue me. None of them really deserves a longish review (actually they do, but I’m a lazy bum), so here’s a
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There was a short-lived show on TV called Love Monkey starring Tom Cavanagh as an A&R rep for a record label. In the pilot episode, he starts off by saying that he’s a crime fighter, and his job is to ensure that criminally bad music doesn’t hit the music stores. If I were to be
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I just watched bits and pieces of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi last night and it occurred to me suddenly that it was essentially a gender-swapped version of Satyam Shivam Sundaram, with SRK in the Zeenat Aman role and dancing instead of boinking. Does anyone else agree, or is it just me? It’s genetic, I
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I remember watching Pasumpon years ago on TV and thinking, there’s no earthly reason why this movie should work. The son (Prabhu) of a zamindar is estranged from his mother (Radhika) for two decades because she remarried after her husband died. He grows into adulthood and still carries around that resentment, although by now it
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Something interesting is happening to Tamil village cinema these days. It is as if a bunch of directors have decided to throw away the Nattamai — Morai Maaman playbook and write a new one instead. This new cinema is defined, above all, by real characters. I could spend ages in the interiors of Tamil Nadu
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I dreamt of being a boy scout last night, so let me start with the most charitable thing I can say about Padikkadhavan: It is a steaming pile of crap. There, my good deed is done for the day. Now let me talk about the movie. Dhanush seems to have gotten into the business of
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Thanks to his Golden Globe for Slumdog Millionaire (and the possibility of an Oscar), Rahman is now the flavour of the month. While I haven’t been too impressed with much of his recent work, it made me think about his career over the years. I heard Roja when I was in high school — to
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By time time Wanted got over, the only thought remaining in my mind was: What if one were to make it in Tamil with Vadivelu, Nayantara and Parthiban and call it Bullet Bhoopathi? There are two reasons for this. First, the movie isn’t conducive to thoughts of a coherent nature. Second, the hero gets beaten
24 frames per second 